Broomfield flag retirement ceremony gets children, community involved

For information on flag etiquette and proper flag retirement, go to americanflags.org and click on flag etiquette and then proper flag etiquette.

A new generation of Broomfield residents got a chance to learn about patriotism and flag etiquette Saturday during a Flag Day flag retirement ceremony.

A group of children joined their parents at Broomfield's 10th annual flag retirement ceremony at North Metro Fire Station 61, where they enthusiastically helped retire old flags by cutting apart the blue field of stars from the 13 stripes of more than 400 flags.

The ceremony, presented by North Metro Fire Rescue District, the Broomfield Veterans Memorial Museum and Broomfield, paid tribute to the Stars and Stripes while teaching the community about the flag retirement process.

Adults and children ages 5 to 13 helped cut apart the flags and sort the pieces into bins before the flags were burned ceremoniously in hot fires in front of the fire station. The flags were donated by residents who live in and near North Metro Fire Rescue District.

Parents said they wanted their kids to participate so they could experience first-hand what it means to be an American.

For Pam Minto and her 5-year-old daughter, Caydee, the flag retirement was both educational and emotional.

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Pam Minto's father, retired Navy officer Carl Eckstein, died on Memorial Day this year. As a father, he made sure to teach his children how to care for and respect the American flag, Minto said.

"He would have been proud to be here," Minto said, cradling her daughter in her arms.

Caydee said she was excited to help cut the field of blue stars from the 13 stripes, but told her mother she wished her grandfather had been there to help.

Minto said her father was deeply patriotic and always raised and lowered the flag at his home. He also had a sense of humor.

"He loved his colors — his morning colors, his evening colors," Minto said. "And on every Veterans Day, we got to hear the same joke: "Look, the uniform still fits.'"

Other families brought children to the event to give them a hands-on lesson in flag etiquette.

Gina and Meherab Amaria brought their three children, Ilana, 13, and twins Ethan and Gemma, 5. Ethan proudly wore a fireman's costume and got to take a look at the fire station's shiny fire trucks.

"It's just nice to teach them about our country," said Gina Amaria.

Her oldest daughter, Ilana, once helped raise and lower the flag at her former elementary school, Mountain View Elementary, and became interested in continuing to be involved in flag-related events.The Amaria family wanted their younger twins to learn the same respect for the flag.

The children at Mountain View "were really adamant about respecting the flag," Amaria said.

Other children at the retirement ceremony said they were similarly interested in learning more about flags and flag ceremonies.

Brandi Golden brought her two children, 5-year-old Langston and 8-year-old Avery, to the event.

While the children were excited to tour parts of the fire station and sit near the fire trucks, they also were happy to help retire the flags.

Avery said she wanted to do a report about flags for school.

"Not many people know you have to (retire) flags the proper way," she said.

Young families joined volunteers from the Broomfield Daughters of the American Revolution, as well as other community members, for a barbecue after the flag retirement event. The event drew about 50 people, said North Metro spokeswoman Sara Farris.

Many were retired during the ceremony, but Jerry Chesser, of the Broomfield Veterans Memorial Museum, said not all the flags could be burned at the event. Some of the flags are made of nylon, and it's safer to retire those by sending them to a funeral home, where they are cremated, he said.

READYING FOR RETIREMENT: Caydee Minto 5, helps separate the field of stars from the stripes on a flag during Saturday's flag retirement ceremony at North Metro Fire Station 61. (David R. Jennings / Broomfield Enterprise)

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